OF  CALIFORNIA 
S  ANGELES 


2^21  \JL 


PUBLISHER'S    I'RICFACIv. 

For  thousaiuls  of  years  China's  vast  populatimi  has  wor- 
shiped its  ancestors  and  clung  to  their  customs.  To  forsake 
the  ways  of  the  fathers  has  been  considered  by  them  an  act 
of  disrespect  and  disloyalty  to  their  parents,  an  act  in  which 
a  Chinaman  can  not  indulge  without  losing  the  respect  of 
all  his  former  associates  and  his  relatives. 

This  has  held  the  whole  Chinese  nation  to  the  dilTicult 
method  of  writing  invented  thousands  of  years  ago  and 
faithfully  followed  by  each  successive  generation  through 
the  long  years  th  it  have  intervened  between  that  un- 
charted  past  and   the   present   time. 

That  method  of  writing,  so  difficult  in  itself,  has  required 
so  many  years  of  the  closest  application  for  its  mastery  by 
even  the  brightest  minds,  that  the  great  majority  of  Chinese 
parents  did  not  consider  it  worth  their  while  to  have  it 
taught  to  their  daughters;  and  very  many  indeed  have  not 
been  able  to  keep  their  boys  in  school  until  tbej'  had 
mastered  it.  Thus  there  exists  to-day  in  China  a  great 
multitude  who  can  not  read  their  own  language. 

This  has  been  one  of  the  great  obstacles  which  mission- 
aries in  China  have  encountered  in  their  work.  They  have 
gone  there  with  the  Bible  translated  into  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage, only  to  find  a  vast  concourse  of  people  who  could  not 
read  it.  This  condition  was  almost  universal  so  far  as  the 
women  were  concerned.  So,  although  the  missionaries  had 
overcome  the  obstacle  of  translating  the  Bible  into  the 
languages  of  the  nation,  they  had  not  overcome  the  obstacle 
of  a  great  multitude's  inability  to  read  it  after  its  translation 
into  the  very  language  they  spoke. 

But  God,  in  His  opening  jirovidence,  has  now  opened  a 
way  whereby  this  obstacle  also  can  be  and  will  be  overcome. 
He  has  given  to  a  faithful  handmaid  of  His  the  system  of 
universal  sound-writing  outlined  in  these  pages — a  system 
which  can  be  used  in  writing  any  language,  but  which  will 

293086         '" 


4  PREFACE. 

find  its  greatest  field  in  China;  and  He  is  also  breaking 
down,  much  of  the  prejudice  which  formerly  would  have 
barred  out  even  such  a  simple  method  of  writing  as  this. 
Thus  many  Chinese  have  now  taken  up  this  system  of  writ- 
ing so  unlike  the  system  which  their  fathers  used  through 
the  generations  of  the  past. 

The  amount  of  time  necessary  to  learn  to  read  all  the 
dialects  of  China  has  by  this  system  been  reduced  from 
many  years  to  a  few  hours.  Chinese  men  and  women  who 
have  been  unable  to  read  the  Word  of  God  in  their  own 
language  will  now  have  it  presented  to  them  in  such  simple 
and  easily-learned  characters  that  any  who  will  may  learn, 
in  a  few  hours'  study,  to  read  its  blessed  promises,  warnings, 
and  instructions. 

Doubtless  this  system  will  soon  be  used  in  other  kinds  of 
literature,  in  commerce,  and  in  common  correspondence; 
but  the  burden  of  the  one  who  has  given  it  to  the  world  and 
nurtured  it  through  years  of  opposition  is  that  the  people  of 
China  may  have  the  Word  of  God  in  a  system  of  writing 
which  they  all  can  learn,  women  as  well  as  men,  the  poor 
as  well  as  the  rich.  Therefore,  it  is  the  design  that  the  book 
which  shall  follow  this  shall  consist  of  portions  of  the  Bible 
transliterated  into  Chinese  shorthand.  With  this  done,  and 
a  corps  of  willing  missionary  teachers  to  give  the  little 
instruction  necessary,  a  great  advance  will  have  been  made 
in  preparing  the  way  for  the  evangelization  of  China.  And 
for  this  blessed  consummation  the  publishers  of  this  little 
work  shall  continue  to  pray.  The  Publ,ishers. 


UrMver^al  c)ter\o<5rapKy,  or  CKir\e^c  c)KortKar\d 
Tabic  oj  PKoaeticCKaractey 

The  sound  oj  iKe  phooetic  character  is  four\d  in  the 
words  written  Irv  fhe  lejt"-War\d  margirv^ 


Cope  p 
£ob£  K 
Hnt     t 


AHd    d 


\ 


i    o 

i    o 


••I  / 


•■at  ' 


X 


£ke£_ck 


Z 


^^4- 


z 


z 


y«wtf 


-^  H 


r 


\:r 


r 


> 


HlveLiorcl^  Prayer  CCKirwi^cL 


.^kake  sL 


ii 

i 


I- 


L 


:s 


'-*^ 


See  page  7  for  a  more  delailed  exposition  of  these  phonetic 
characters. 


Come,  lo   tJf;.'?U3(,,)apane«.p) 


J 


-^    .      2 


J  > 


cSonq^  cJe.sasJ.n\/e.sMe"Tl^i>.  I  KnowfCklng.se) 

v^  "  ^°  r^~r".  V  -^  r-  -^  -  /°  ^.  / 


e  V  in  ^  > 


c'St.cJohn   l4tKCKaptpr,V&r.-=>es 


^    ^.     /°-^ 


Z-o 


v-^ 


/f  ^  ^ 


^  --^  ^. 


r  o-  \. 


Now    I    L,^ij  M(°.   Down  tor'^lpep 


(Indian   LanrjuajP.) 


Y'^  ^  \'  .-^  ^r  ,  ^  ^,,  ^^  7  ^ 


1LA_X 


■   r-    H.-^    -1^    ■ 


Ckine^e Numerals 


\         p        ?>       4 5 6 7 6 9 U2 LL 


[6] 


Alphabet  /Vol.  jj  to  be  used  the  same  as 
Pitman's.    /\/o.2  /sa  reserve Jorce  upon 
whi'ch.  to  draw.  Wtien  /Volja//s  tog/ve  a  new 
3ound,  then  tatcet/?e  character  giving  the  sound 
nearest  to  ttiat sound,  and p/acc  a  sma// tia/t 
circle,  c  -^  lh rough  it,  thus :  n  v^  ^^p^.   itie  taffer 
is  a  nasal  groaning  sound i^ery  different Jrom 
the  jformer 

-w-  is  a  guttural soundand /he  nearestsound 
to  iPis  representedh)(/g — 3l/ p/adnp //ye ha// 

c/rcte  through ,  K^ehai/e  -*^  wA/cA  represents 

the  sound.  Itie  sound /s  <3  guttural  sound.  It  Is 
made  toi^ptacinp  the  endq//Ae  tongue  tn  the 
roof  of  the  mouth?  anda/tempt/ng  to pronou/7cet/?e. 

7ne  vowel  sounds  ars  the  sa/77e^  eA<^h  hu/made 
in  a  circ/e  shape  l.In  order  to  empshas/ze  them,  n^h/irh 
ts  so  verynecessarg/n  theCh/hese  languape,  /r?a/ce  o 
larger  o.  76prolo/7g  the  sound.  mahe  ttQydlc=>. 

Id  emphasize  the  double  i/oi^els pass  the 
center  sfrot<e  through  them.  Thus  m  becor77esf^ 
and  3  becomes  >  15 prolong  the  sour?d/7?dhe 
the  center  strohe  heave/ .  'Pius  ^becomes  ^ 
To  emphasize  the  dlpthor^ps  oz  '^andoiv^, 
double  the  s/ze,  thus  ""     ■> 

U/r/te  the  ix/ordln  o/7e  of  three  positions  Id 
Indicate  a  loi</l^/?e,  ah/pherhne,  or^  i/er(/ 
high  tone.  Exdmples:  -r-~^  '  ^^"^     '^^ 

ttany  of  their  Hoards  are^pp<3re/?tlgthe3dr7Fe, 
but  mean  d/JJerentli/  accord inp  to  /ntonatlonj 
but  as  the  words  have  thetr  names  accord/np  ib 


[7] 


their  positions,  this  rule  of  the  consonant 
cou/dnotdppiy  to  the  vowe/sj  therefore,  /n. 
order  to  rdiae  the  30undoff/?e  vouye/s,  p/<3ce 
them//2  t/ie/rna/'urc?/ po^///o/?3,  f/je  ///ive//c^/ 
before  tAem.  'o  b  -b 

}4/7d  to  /on^er  i^/?em,  the  /////e  r 

l^r pro/ong/n^  the^ou/yc/s  c/ou6/e  the  /er?^//? 
oj  the  strof<e5  ^^^  \ 

lo  comprehend  /he  fpg//:>hdt  /he  3grr7e  t/rrpe, 
whi/e  redd/n^  /he  Chir/ese,  p/c^ee  /he  /oive/3  /haft 
g/ve  the  fn^/ijh  /n  /he  cep/eror&/'e///7er  e/7c/^ 
the  word....    -. —  *^~    '  ^ 

Ano/her  ia^cJl/  qfc//7c/er^/&/?d//7ff  //'a5  ib  mi/ethe 
Chinese  words  m/h  h/^ch//?/:^  ■  //yen  hd/?af//^ibi/Oi/r 
Chjnesepap///o  i4/r/iie  /hroaph /Ae  ^d/77e,  or 
dboi/e,  hu/w//h  rec//r?A .  l/ic/s  i4^/fi(^/z6/j(/'^/^/7? 

of  ^hor/hl^nc/  ' —  ^   /  '   O  (Ou.rTalUer  in  Heaven). 

tl/ow,  iA//ih  red/nh:  H/r//e  /hrou^h /hose  cfd^r<^c/crs 
the  vt/orc/sjor  ivh/ch  /he(/ 3t(3nc/ /'n  Fnc/h/^h  '^-^ 
fottowc>r\  K^  y^-^^  ■ 

7t?efore^o/nc/  is  <;7///h(^//s  ncccss^rc/  7b  yyr//e 
any  dicf/ec//n  /t?e  C/7inc5e/d/7^6/(^pe,du/<^j<Jpdncse 
tias  /on^ersc/Z/dh/es  dnd  /on^er^or^,  /t/fyhdfc/ 
/to.  <3  /33orr?e//n7e3  co/7i/e/7/er?/r  ftS  cfo^/^cT^rcS 
are  the  ^gme^s A/qI.  huh^md/Zer  w  w  if  —  ieh. 

lttejdpdnesr://fc/hc  fr?^//^rfer'd5/?ip//7i&/?d//o/7. 
/\'5n7d//c/rcf€  con7/77enc/io'oor/n/he/77/c/cf/^c/ 
g  wora  ^/\/es  corz  orco/77  o  '^  ^  <t— ^v.  ci^  t_^ 

Ine  circ/c  df  the  end  of  the  vi/orc/ g/i/es  //'0/2 
X,  '^-     'S    ^^^^  ^^^  ^"'^^^  larger  jor  plurals  V  S^ 

tf  dotdtthe  endg/cF  worc/<^dds  tore/  ^.Jdde. 


[s] 


Universal  cyte  nog  raphy, or  Chinese  ^Korthand 
lable  of  Phonetic  Charactei^ 

Tne^ sound  oj  the  pnonetic  character  i&jound  in, 
"the  words  written  ia  "the  left-hand  margia 

if9i  ^°zm 


t^pg. 


EobfiJi 


±taL_± 


'?!^x3mple5:   pea\  _  p^tj  \  ,  l^ahV,  api"^  .'t>-a  1 


Add  d 


i 


it    1     fA   \ .  ;,dd  ,1 ,     Jn  /,   too 


Each  en 


LJgs 


-^ 


we 
waij 

wah 


we       > 


waw 
wo 
wcfo 


wo 
wd 
woo 


'^ 


^'09  g 


ye  u. 
qa  vK 
yah     (i* 


y!    ^ 

ya        ^ 


yaw 

yOO 


yOO 


4-1 


Example^- wppd   ^l.w^de  ^1,    wit'^l    we1"  ^1 


k 


■ove  V 


V 


wdtT  ^1,   wood  jl,  ijif.ld  w^,  Vale  ?"  yatht  1 


V 


^■n  th 


l^^nth 


Make    ar^ij  con'ionani  rlnuble  length  to  prolonc) 
iff)  ■'=)Qund.  Example^ '^\-.    (  \,  )/, 


r)p.p    fi 


.^-^^ 


±tk 


Lay_I 


r 


Writp-  tkg  word  in  one  QJ  thrfp  position^ 


f 


ya 


r 


to  indir,=itp,  ^  lowtonp_  ^  hi^hfr  to 


frrlonc .or  a 


L 


A 


re   r 


^ 


ver^j  high  tone 


^ 


"s 


3L 


ay_JA^ 


A 


1, 


xamplcs: 


^'. 


^ 


..'jkakf.  sh 


y 


ZiiuiA 


y 


ihg  mark  H  maij  be  usf-d  to  repre5ent 


J 


Ai 


douhle  vowel  sound.°>  nnt  provided  \or  in  rhl) 


Wing  r^ 
Jjky_k 


_x^  ^he  double  vowel  character,;?  in  th 


/ 


ahove  tahlg.- 


/ 


[9] 


OUR  LOR0'(5>  PRAYER- 


^ 


,  r  i- 


k  5l^A-III^^ 


Ix 


.5— 


^Ml^^^^^'kW)^ 


/'/' 


1 / L. 


^^M^JM^M. 


7  ^ 


1^- 


^( 


~^MX~¥WM^ 


c 


(  -'.  V- 


->  ) 


#^^.^g  iisffi 


:& 


-.  ?.  < 


32- 


[10] 


UNIVEK^AL    ^TBNOOKAPHT,  OR. 
CHINBiC    SHORTHAND 

The  Story  of  Its  Conception  and  the  Struggles  through 

Which  It  H^s  Been  Compelled  to  Pass  in 

the    Uphill   Fight    for    Success 

I  have  often  been  asked  how  I  came  to  invent  a 
method  of  writing  a  language  which  I  had  never 
learned  and  can  not  hope  to  learn.  In  this  letter  to 
the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  I  will 
tell  you. 

After  the  death  of  my  husband,  twenty-three 
years  ago,  I  felt  I  must  have  something  to  take  my 
mind  from  my  trouble,  and  at  the  same  time  be  a 
possible  source  of  income  to  me,  so  that,  should  I 
lose  my  property,  I  could  earn  my  living.  I  decided 
upon  the  study  of  stenography.  Having  learned 
the  old  system  of  Isaac  Pitman  in  my  youthful  days, 
I  procured  all  the  new  and  improved  works  of  Ben. 
Pitman,  Marsh,  and  Graham.  Fortunately  I  had 
two  neighbors  whose  sons  had  made  a  specialty  of 
stenography,  and  from  these  I  received  many  good 
ideas  that  have  been  of  assistance  to  me  in  this 
work. 

It  has  always  been  thought  a  thing  impossible  to 
construct  a  Chinese  alphabet,  and,  although  I  have 
found  that  it  is  possible  and  that  the  alphabet  is 
easily  mastered,  yet  this  work,  like  all  other  good 
discoveries,  has  had  to  stand  its  share  of  persecution 
for  years. 


12  UNIVERSAL   STENOGRAPHY, 

In  the  year  1883  circumstances  so  shaped  them- 
selves that  I  found  myself  teaching  stenography  to  a 
bright  class  of  public-school  teachers  in  Sacramento, 
California,  and  while  repeating  the  vowel  sounds, 
as  one  has  to  so  constantly  in  teaching  stenography, 
I  became  interested  in  noting  the  possibilities  lying 
in  these  many  phonetic  characters.  As  I  was  writ- 
ing the  word  "  China,"  it  dawned  upon  me  that  I 
could  write  any  word  in  any  language  by  the  aid  of 
these  various  characters  representing  sounds.  To 
do  this,  I  must  confine  myself  to  the  corresponding 
style,  eliminating  all  the  logograms,  word  signs,  and 
abbreviations.  The  thought  was  with  me  night 
and  day,  until  one  day  I  was  appointed  by  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.  to  call  upon  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Becker  to 
deliver  an  address  on  Temperance.  Knowing  him 
to  be  a  master  of  many  languages,  I  told  him  I  had 
made  a  discovery  which  would  be  of  great  benefit 
to  foreign  missionaries.  He  was  willing  to  learn 
from  a  woman,  and  so  at  his  request  I  explained  to 
him  the  principles  of  the  system.  He  requested 
that  I  take  him  as  a  pupil,  and  to  this,  of  course,  I 
gladl}'  consented.  After  one  week's  study  of  the 
Pitman  system  of  stenography,  he  announced  his 
belief  in  the  feasibility  of  my  work,  and  requested 
that  I  write  what  he  said  while  talking  in  some 
foreign  language.  He  began  dictating  to  me  a 
letter  in  a  foreign  language  to  his  wife,  speaking 
slowly,  while  I  wrote  ver)'  carefully,  placing  every 
vowel  and  double  vowel  in  its  proper  place,  but 
using  at  that  time  no  other  characters  than  those 
found  in  Pitman's  system. 


OR    CHINESE   SHORTHAND.  I3 

When  I  had  read  to  Mr.  Becker  what  I  had 
written,  he  said,  "Do  you  know  you  are  reading 
that  with  the  perfect  accent  of  a  German  scholar?" 
Not  understanding  that  language,  I,  too,  was  aston- 
ished at  my  discovery,  for  at  that  time  I  had  never 
heard  of  stenography  being  applied  to  any  language 
except  the  English. 

When  Mr.  Becker  arrived  in  the  East  he  wrote  me 
several  letters  saying  that  he  had  brought  the  matter 
before  a  number  of  learned  men,  linguists,  reporters, 
and  others;  that  at  first  they  had  doubted  the  pos- 
sibility of  it,  but  finally  grasped  the  idea,  and 
expressed  astonishment  that  a  woman  away  out  in 
Sacramento,  California,  had  been  the  first  to  think 
of  combining  these  signs  for  any  language. 

When  I  began  to  experiment  with  it  on  the 
Chinese  language,  with  its  sounds  so  different  from 
any  that  I  had  ever  learned,  I  soon  found  I  needed 
another  alphabet  of  both  vowels  and  consonants. 
How  to  obtain  this  without  taxing  the  memory  too 
much  was  at  first  a  puzzle  to  me.  But  after  praying 
over  the  matter,  it  came  to  me  to  use  what  might  be 
termed  a  trade-mark,  and  place  it  upon  the  Pitman 
vowels  and  consonant  signs,  giving  these  characters 
a  different  appearance,  and  leaving  them  without 
name  or  sound,  but  as  a  reserve  force  from  which 
to  draw.  These  I  would  christen  with  the  new 
sound  uttered  by  the  Chinese  reading  to  me. 

The  next  question  was.  What  should  be  the  shape 
of  this  trade-mark?  So  one  night  I  dreamed  that  I 
saw  a  large  half  moon  across  my  room  filled  with 


14  UNIVKRSAI.   STENOGRAPHY, 

vowels  and  diphthongs  in  a  leaning  position,  thus, 
yi  .  The  next  day  I  heard  a  Chinaman  say,  "yow," 
and  I  immediately  christened  this  character  "yow." 
That  is  the  only  word-sign  used  that  is  not  spelled 
out  phonetically.  The  half  moon  I  took  for  my 
trade-mark.  It  could  be  placed  upon  double-length 
characters  to  represent  a  prolonged  sound. 

I  now  felt  that  I  was  prepared  to  write  any  word 
that  a  Chinaman  could  speak;  but  a  more  impor- 
tant lesson  came  to  me  later  on,  for  this  matter  was 
revealed  to  me  little  by  little,  as  I  felt  the  need,  like 
the  falling  of  the  manna  for  the  children  of  Israel. 

I  experimented  with  it  on  my  Swedish  neighbor 
from  time  to  time,  but  did  little  with  it  on  the 
Chinese  for  several  years.  I  believe  the  Lord  per- 
mitted it  to  lie  dormant  during  this  time  because  I 
was  not  fully  consecrated  to  Him.  I  could  not  then 
have  stood  the  discouragements  which  were  to  come 
in  connection  with  this  work.  Seven  years  after  I 
first  thought  of  the  possibility  of  these  many  pho- 
netic characters,  I  did,  at  a  camp-meeting  at  Beulah 
Park,  make  that  surrender  to  the  Lord  which 
brought  to  me  the  victory.  All  alone  in  my  tent 
the  surrender  was  made  and  the  experience  came  as 
quickly  as  conversion  ever  came.  The  next  day  I 
accosted  a  Chinaman  who  pas.sed  my  teut,  and 
told  him  what  the  Lord  had  given  me  for  his 
people.  I  there  gave  him  a  lesson  in  Chinese  short- 
hand, and  at  once  got  such  a  love  for  the  work  and 
such  a  high  esteem  for  the  Chinese  race  as  I  had 
never  had  before.     I  felt  also  a  great  desire  to  teach 


OR   CHINESE  SHORTHAND.  1 5 

the  missionaries  who  should  go  to  China,  because  of 
the  great  saving  in  time  which  it  would  mean  to 
them  in  laboring  among  the  Chinese,  manj^of  whom 
are  not  able  to  read  the  Bible  even  in  their  own 
language. 

The  experiences  which  I  met  with  in  trying  to 
get  Chinese  to  read  to  me  so  that  I  might  write 
their  words  were  varied,  and,  on  the  whole,  not  very 
encouraging.  I  went  into  one  Chinese  store  and 
asked  them  to  talk  to  me  in  their  language  that  I 
might  write  it  down.  I  asked  how  they  said,  "  In 
God  I  trust."  That  and  many  other  sentences  they 
gave  me.  I  put  this  writing  away,  did  not  look  at 
it  for  a  week,  to  see  if  I  could  read  it  after  the 
sounds  had  gone  from  my  mind.  I  found  that  I 
could  do  so,  and,  going  to  a  Chinese  clerk,  asked  him 
to  listen  to  me  read.  He  pronounced  the  reading 
very  good  and  asked  where  I  had  learned  it.  That 
was  my  first  encouragement. 

I  went  to  the  Methodist  Chinese  Mission  on  Third 
Street  and  engaged  Fon  Con,  the  Chinese  preacher 
in  charge,  to  read  to  me  three  times  a  week.  After 
having  written  several  pages,  he  told  me  that  some 
of  my  words  were  very  good,  but  that  others  were 
not  so  good.  Hoping  for  help  in  this  difficulty,  I 
requested  him  to  ask  his  superintendent  when  he 
came  up  again  to  come  to  see  me.  In  the  mean- 
time I  was  led  to  read  in  one  of  our  prayer-meetings 
what  I  had  written,  and  Sister  Carley  exclaimed, 
"That  is  of  God."  She  insisted  that  I  had  a  duty 
to  perform  in  this  direction  from  which  I  must  not 


1 6  UNIVERSAL  STENOGRAPHY, 

shrink,  although  she  knew  how  I  did  shrink  from 
publicity.  She  soon  wrote  to  our  superintendent. 
Dr.  F.,  of  San  Francisco,  fully  believing  that  he 
would  be  able  to  help  me  and  open  the  way  for  me 
to  teach  the  system  in  the  mission  schools.  In  his 
reply  Dr.  F.  declared  the  idea  absurd  and  impossible. 
This  unexpected  blow  did  not  discourage  me  in  the 
least,  for  I  knew  that,  being  of  God,  it  must  be 
persecuted,  perhaps  even  by  those  who  ought  to 
have  encouraged  it. 

Not  long  after  hearing  from  Brother  F.  through 
his  letter  to  Sister  Carle}^  he  called  on  me  by  my 
invitation.  I  attempted  to  lay  the  plan  before  him. 
when  he  remarked:  "  Now,  sister,  I  do  not  wish  to 
discourage  you  in  any  work  that  you  are  undertak- 
ing for  the  I^ord,  but  I  am  sure  you  are  undertaking 
a  great  impossibility.  Don't  you  know  that  no  one 
has  ever  done  that  or  ever  can?"  "No,  sir,"  I 
replied,  "  I  do  not  know  that  what  has  never  been 
done  can  not  be  done  in  this  day  and  age,  especially 
when  faith,  study,  and  works  are  put  together."  I 
told  him  that  I  was  not  doing  this  for  any  selfish 
interest  or  for  money,  but  for  the  millions  of  souls 
back  of  it;  that  it  meant  a  Bible  for  the  missionaries 
which  the  heathen  could  read,  the  ignorant  as  well 
as  the  learned,  the  women  as  well  as  the  men. 

Brother  F.  then  went  on  to  tell  me  of  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  language;  for  instance,  the  use  of  the 
same  word  in  a  low  or  high  tone  to  express  different 
things.  I  had  never  thought  over  that.  Probably 
it  was  such  words  that  Fon  Con  had  said  were  not 


I 


OR   CHINESE   SHORTHAND.  1 7 

very  good.  I  then  asked  that  he  should  read  to  me 
from  his  Chinese  Bible  or  speak  a  few  sentences  to 
me,  but  he  excused  himself  and  bade  me  good-by. 
It  seemed  as  if  a  wet  blanket  had  been  thrown  over 
my  zeal,  but  I  prayed  to  the  Lord  that  He  would 
give  me  one  more  lesson.  It  came  to  me  as  if  it 
had  been  written  on  the  walls  of  my  room.  Why 
not  use  the  principles  of  music  ?  The  musician 
raises  and  lowers  his  voice.  Take  three  imaginary 
lines  and  write  the  words  in  three  different  positions 
for  the  three  different  intonations. 

I  was  overjoyed,  and  could  hardly  wait  till  morn- 
ing to  go  down  to  our  M.  E.  Mission  to  see  Fon 
Con  and  have  him  read  to  me,  and  to  explain  to  him 
that  I  knew  now  what  words  were  not  good.  But 
through  Fon  Con's  conversation  with  Mr.  F.,  know- 
ing that  Mr.  F.  was  an  American  and  a  great  mis- 
sionary, he  had  accepted  Mr.  F.'s  ideas,  taking  them 
for  law  and  gospel.  So  he  said:  "  If  you  want  to 
learn  China  talk,  do  alle  same  as  Mr.  F.;  go  to 
China,  get  a  teacher  all  day.  You  velly  smart  learn 
in  five  years,  then  by  and  by  you  read  little  in  our 
Bible." 

But  God  never  designed  that  His  work  should 
travel  at  a  snail's  pace,  while  man's  work  travels 
with  the  speed  of  electricity.  However,  I  could  not 
induce  Fon  Con  or  any  of  the  others  in  that  school 
to  give  me  further  help  in  this  work.  Through  the 
influence  of  Brother  F.  also  I  was  prevented  from 
teaching  in  the  evening  Chinese  Sunday-school.  I 
was  completely  ignored  Sunday  after   Sunday,   al- 


1 8  UNIVERSAI,   STKNOGRAPHY, 

though  in  attendance  and  prepared  to  teach,  until 
I  saw  that  I  was  but  wasting  my  time  there.  Some 
asked  me  how  I  could  bear  such  repeated  insults. 
I  replied  that  it  was  not  I,  but  the  work  which  the 
lyord  had  called  me  to  do,  and  they  would  have  to 
reckon  with  Him  concerning  the  way  they  treated 
that. 

I  then  presented  the  matter  to  the  Baptist  Mission. 
Fortunately,  the  Chinese  minister  and  superintend- 
ent were  willing  to  examine  the  system,  saw  the 
feasibility  of  it,  and  gave  me  welcome  to  their  hall 
every  Saturday  evening  to  teach  it,  and  advised  that 
I  invite  the  other  denominations  in  to  take  part. 
Brother  F.  permitted  me  to  give  a  public  invitation 
to  the  members  of  the  M.  E.  Mission  school,  but  I 
received  no  additions  to  my  class  from  that  source. 
To  Brother  Sam,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  I  gave 
two  lessons,  and  he  turned  to  Brother  Chow  Len 
and  said,  "  If  Mr.  F.  had  taken  this  one  lesson,  he 
never  would  have  talked  to  the  Chinamen  as  he 
did."  Chow  Len  said,  "  Now  let  us  read  in  nothing 
but  the  Cantonese  dialect,  and  have  it  written  down 
in  that,  and  this  will  bring  about  a  universal  dialect; 
for  when  I  learn  a  little  more  about  the  Chinese 
stenography,  I  intend  to  publish  it  to  the  world,  that 
my  people  may  have  the  benefit  of  it,"  But,  to  my 
disappointment,  he  started  for  China  the  next  week. 

Brother  Sam  was  too  busy  to  continue  his  lessons, 
but  requested  that  I  teach  his  wife.  I  did  so,  and 
she  learned  it  in  a  few  weeks;  but  she  was  too  busy 
to  teach  it  to  others.     Most  of  my  class,  being  work- 


OR   CHINESE  SHORTHAND,  1 9 

ing  bo3'S,  went  into  the  country  to  pick  fruit, 
leaving  me  again  without  practise  or  pupil. 

Knowing  that  the  system  applied  to  every  lan- 
guage, I  taught  it  to  a  Scotchman,  who  was  going 
to  Africa  as  an  evangelist.  He,  too,  tried  to  get 
Chinamen  to  read  to  him,  but  they  were  too  busy, 
or  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  one  who 
said  "shorthand"  to  them.  Even  the  women  and 
children  had  been  influenced  against  it.  I  went  to 
San  Francisco,  but  found  that  even  here  the  influ- 
ence of  Mr.  F.  had  been  at  work,  and  none  of  the 
four  missions  would  give  me  a  hearing  before  their 
Chinese  pupils.  I  received  permission  to  teach  in 
the  Chinese  Salvation  Armj'-  quarters  during  the 
afternoon  and  one  evening  each  week.  Here  a  Call 
reporter  interviewed  me,  and  published  much  of  the 
plain,  truthful  letter  which  I  am  writing  to  my 
friends.  He  asked  what  I  called  the  system.  I  told 
him  Mrs.  Ferguson  had  christened  it  Pentecostal 
Stenography,  as  every  one  hears  in  his  own  tongue. 
He  said  he  should  call  it  a  human  phonograph,  as 
by  this  system  one  would  be  able  to  reproduce  every 
sound  heard.  Then  the  Chronicle  reporter  called 
and  said  that  they  wanted  the  story  for  their  New 
York  paper;  but  as  it  turned  out,  the  Call  had 
already  telegraphed  the  matter  to  its  New  York 
paper. 

I  was  cordially  received  by  the  Episcopal  clergy- 
man, Mr.  Emery,  who  introduced  me  to  one  of  their 
missionaries  on  her  way  to  Japan,  I  taught  her,  to 
her  great  satisfaction. 


20  UNIVERSAL   STENOGRAPHY, 

I  next  presented  the  system  to  Mrs.  Carrie  Judd- 
Montgomery,  at  Beulah  Park.  She  very  soon 
grasped  the  details  of  it,  and  said  to  me  that  when 
her  brother  was  dying  he  declared  that  God  would 
raise  up  some  one  who  would  get  up  a  system  of 
stenography  that  would  write  the  Chinese  language, 
"and  you  tell  me,"  said  she,  "that  it  was  about 
that  time  that  it  was  presented  to  you."  She  urged 
me  to  go  on  with  it  and  to  teach  it  to  her  adopted 
daughter,  who  was  engaged  in  Salvation  Army 
work  in  San  Francisco.  I  was  kindly  received  there 
by  Ensign  Jackson  and  others.  She  said  she  knew 
this  was  of  the  Lord,  and  suggested  that  we  have  a 
season  of  prayer  over  the  matter.  We  did  so,  and 
her  earnest  prayers  have  followed  me  like  angels' 
wings. 

Soon  after  this,  while  at  the  Beulah  camp-meeting, 
I  prayed  to  the  Lord  for  another  lesson,  and  the 
lesson  came.  It  was  in  reference  to  raising  and 
lowering  the  tones  and  intonations  of  the  single  and 
double  vowels.  Being  stationary,  and  taking  their 
names  from  their  positions,  they  could  not  be  raised 
and  lowered  on  imaginary  lines  like  the  consonants. 
The  lesson  made  it  so  very  plain  that  it  is  no  won- 
der the  wise  men  of  the  East  asked  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Becker  fifteen  years  ago,  ' '  How  is  it  that  a  woman 
away  out  in  California  should  have  thought  of  this 
and  we  never  did  ?  ' ' 

I  will  now  relate  an  incident  to  show  the  necessity 
of  a  simpler  system  of  writing  than  that  which  the 
Chinese   now   have.      A  Chinese  Salvation  Army 


OR    CHINESE    SHORTHAND.  21 

meeting  was  being  held  in  Sacramento,  and  one  of 
the  workers  requested  me  to  speak  to  the  Chinese. 
I  felt  that  I  could  not  do  it,  and  declined.  She  then 
asked  me  to  read  something  to  them.  Something 
seemed  to  say  to  me,  "If  you  are  too  proud  to  speak 
to  these  Chinamen  when  you  have  the  opportunity, 
you  may  never  have  another."  I  then  went  right 
out  into  the  ring.  I  always  carry  a  Bible  with  me 
with  the  English  on  the  one  side  and  the  difficult 
Chinese  writing  on  the  other.  I  opened  this  Bible 
at  St.  John  3:16,  and  told  the  assembled  Chinese 
that  I  held  a  book  in  my  hand  one  side  of  which 
was  English  and  the  other  Chinese,  and  that  I  would 
read  the  English  if  they  would  read  the  Chinese.  I 
passed  the  book  all  around,  but  not  one  of  them 
could  read  their  own  language  in  this  hard  writing. 
A  Chinese  physician,  who  came  along  then,  politely 
offered  to  read  it  for  me.  This  was  encouraging 
both  to  me  and  the  Chinese. 

This  educated  Chinaman  was  Dr.  Hing.  I  went 
to  his  office  and  he  read  to  me  and  I  wrote  the  four- 
teenth chapter  of  John,  and  then  began  the  first 
chapter.  He  became  so  interested  after  a  few  les- 
sons that  he  understood  it  all.  Dr.  Hing  had  a  large 
practise,  and  many  times  would  be  called  away  at 
the  time  when  I  expected  to  meet  him;  but  after 
several  months  I  succeeded  in  getting  part  of  the 
book  of  John  written.  But  this  was  too  slow  work. 
On  the  kind  invitation  of  my  friend,  Mrs.  K.,  I 
went  to  San  Francisco  again,  this  time  to  visit  with 
her  a  certain  very  influential  minister  and  superin- 


22  UNIVERSAL   STENOGRAPHY, 

tendent  of  a  certain  church.  He  was  delighted  to 
meet  again  the  wife  of  his  old  friend  and  college 
mate.  She  requested  him  to  listen  to  my  work.  I 
gave  him  my  letter  of  recommendation,  written  by 
Dr.  Hing,  of  Sacramento.  It  being  in  Chinese,  he 
called  a  Chinaman  to  read  it  to  him.  He  looked 
at  me  as  if  he  had  caught  a  thief,  and  said:  "Ah, 
but  you  can't  do  it !  Dr.  F.  told  me  you  could  not 
doit." 

"Pardon  me,  sir,"  said  I,  "  but  Dr.  F.  never  saw 
a  single  word  I  ever  wrote,  nor  would  he  listen  to 
me  about  it  for  a  single  moment." 

"But  Dr.  F.  told  me  that  he  had  a  talk  with  you. " 

"  Certainly,  but  he  did  all  the  talking,  telling  me 
how  long  he  was  in  China  before  he  could  even 
order  his  cook  to  roast  a  chicken,  and  he  had  often 
thought  that  with  his  time  and  talents  he  might 
have  done  better  than  to  have-  gone  among  the 
Chinese." 

"Well,  well,"  he  replied,  "  I  have  been  to  China 
myself  and  know  it  can't  be  done."  I  said,  "  But 
there  is  nothing  impossible  when  faith  and  works 
are  put  together  with  study  and  a  willing  spirit." 

"  Oh,  if  you  have  had  a  revelation,  I  suppose 
you  may  do  it!  " 

My  friend  interfered  at  this  juncture,  and  said, 
"  Doctor,  I  beg  of  you  to  take  your  Chinese  Bible 
and  read  a  verse  or  two  for  Mrs.  Barrett,  and  see  for 
yourself. ' ' 

"  Oh,' '  said  he,  "  if  there  has  been  a  miracle  per- 
formed, I  suppose  you  can  do  it !  "    By  this  time  the 


OR    CHINESE   SHORTHAND,  23 

old  gentleman  was  so  nervous  that  he  trembled  like 
a  leaf.  He  got  his  glasses  half  way  up  to  his  eyes, 
and  his  Bible  opened,  when  suddenly  he  threw  it 
upon  the  table,  turned  and  walked  out  of  the  room, 
saying,  "  Dr.  F.  says  you  can't  do  it,  and  I  know 
it  can't  be  done." 

The  door  closed.  My  friend  was  amazed.  She 
thought  surely  he  would  return  and  apologize,  but 
he  did  not.  She  then  turned  to  the  Chinaman  and 
said,  "  You  open  the  Bible  and  read  us  a  verse,  and 
see  how  quickly  it  is  written  in  shorthand." 

He  did  so,  and  I  wrote  and  then  read  to  him. 
He  said,  "That  is  just  what  I  said,  only  you  pro- 
nounced one  word  a  little  different,  but  all  very 
good." 

I  then  decided  to  visit  the  Chinese  vice-consuls. 
When  I  had  explained  the  work  to  Mr.  Moore,  the 
vice-consul,  he  became  very  much  interested  in  it, 
asking  me  to  go  over  it  again,  which  I  did  most 
gladly,  he  writing  it  down  as  I  explained  it. 
Within  half  an  hour  he  had  grasped  the  whole  idea. 
He  said,  "  This  is  a  much  easier  way  and  a  quicker 
way  than  we  have,  and.it  ought  to  be  taught  in  our 
public  schools."  I  thanked  him  for  his  kind  atten- 
tion, and  went  away  rejoicing  that  I  had  found 
such  a  perfect  gentleman,  one  who  was  willing  to 
investigate  before  passing  judgment.  At  the  next 
meeting  with  Mr.  Moore  he  gave  me  the  following 
recommendation : — 

"  I  have  examined  Mrs.  Barrett's   Chinese  shorthand  sys- 


24  UNIVKRSAL  STENOGRAPHY, 

tem,  and  have  the  same  opinion  as  Dr.  Hing,  and  I  think  it 
ought  to  be  taught  in  our  public  schools. 

"C.  F.  Moore, 
''Attache  Chinese  Legation,  Washington,  D.  C" 

The  following  is  Dr.  King's  letter: — 

"Sacramento,  Cal.,  April,  1898. 

"  Mrs.  Barrett,  residing  at  Sacramento,  Cal.,  has  invented 
a  method  of  Chinese  shorthand,  which  I  have  studied  with 
her,  and  Mrs.  B.  is  anxious  to  teach  it  to  our  Chinese,  with- 
out receiving  any  pay  whatever.  It  takes  only  a  few  days 
to  accomplish  the  work.  I  am  glad  to  indorse  it  and  rec- 
ommend it.  Dr.  T.  W.  Hing. 

"  70J  J  Street,  Saa-amento.'" 

On  the  departure  of  my  daughter  for  Europe  I 
was  left  free  to  give  more  of  my  time  and  attention 
to  the  work.  At  San  Francisco  I  was  kindly 
received  also  by  the  consul's  interpreter,  Mr.  Nam, 
who  introduced  me  to  their  Chinese  school-teacher. 
I  began  teaching  in  his  school  at  once,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  an  interpreter  who  could  print  m}' 
lesson  leaves.  He  printed  one  thousand  on  red 
paper,  and  these  I  gave  to  the  pupils.  Within  six 
weeks  the  boys  had  a  perfect  understanding  of 
Chinese  shorthand.  Mr.  Nam  indorsed  the  system, 
and  said  that  the  consul  was  very  much  pleased 
with  it.  One  of  the  members  of  the  Chinese  legation 
asked  if  I  would  teach  the  S3'stem  to  their  women. 
I  told  him  I  would  be  delighted  to  do  so,  and  he 
at  once  introduced  me  to  the  family  of  San  Jose 
Charley.  The  girls  in  this  family  learned  ver}' 
quickly,  although  they  could  not  speak  a  word  of 


OR   CHINESE   SHORTHAND.  25 

English.     The  landlord,  who  could  speak  English, 
also  learned  the  system. 

I  found  that  traveling  up  and  down  the  hills 
of  Chinatown  and  up  and  down  the  flights  of  stairs, 
was  too  much  for  my  strength;  but  I  was  willing  to 
die  in  Chinatown  rather  than  give  up  the  work 
before  I  had  succeeded  in  getting  it  into  our  mis- 
sions among  the  Chinese  girls.  One  Chinaman 
who  had  learned  the  system  asked  me  why  I  did 
not  teach  it  to  the  girls  in  the  mission,  and  then 
take  them  to  China  to  teach  the  women  there.  He 
knew  that  this  system  would  overcome  the  difficulty 
which  nearly  all  Chinamen  experience  in  communi- 
cating with,  or  sending  money  to,  their  relatives  in 
China.  The  women  can  not  read,  and  the  men 
have  to  trust  to  the  honesty  of  those  by  whom  they 
send  the  money.  So  Mr.  I,ee  said  to  me:  "  Now  I 
am  going  back  to  China  to  teach  my  wife  this  easy 
way  to  write  the  only  language  she  knows  or  ever 
will  know.  English  longhand  too  hard  for  them 
to  learn,  but  this  Chinese  shorthand  learn  at  home 
in  two  months,  and  then  can  write  and  read  very 
well  for  writing  letters.  Then  when  I  come  back  I 
can  write  to  my  wife,  she  can  read  it,  and  get  all 
the  money  I  send  her.  No  more  Chinaman  read 
my  wife's  letters.     All  very  happy  now." 

In  a  school  on  Dupont  Street  I  learned  a  lesson 
which  has  been  of  value  to  me.  I  was  teaching 
three  boys,  two  of  whom  learned  the  system  very 
readily,  but  the  third  seemed  to  be  an  exception. 
I   feared  that  he  never  would  learn  it,  but  I  found 


26  UNIVERSAL   STENOGRAPHY, 

that  he  was  an  apt  scholar  in  the  Chinese  way  of 
writing.  One  day  while  teaching  him,  I  noticed 
him  watching  me  very  closely,  and  I  concluded  he 
could  learn  by  observation.  I  had  him  read  short 
words  from  his  second  reader.  He  copied  them,  and 
thus  soon  learned  to  write  in  the  Chinese  shorthand 
and  also  in  the  English.  So  I  found  that  some  of 
the  Chinese  learn  by  imitation  better  than  in  any 
other  way.  The  mother  of  the  boy  was  so  pleased 
that  she  sent  me  $2.50,  and  this,  with  75  cents 
which  I  received  from  San  Jose  Charley's  landlord, 
I  felt  well  repaid  me  for  my  experience  in  Chinatown 
during  those  fifteen  months. 

One  gentleman  who  learned  this  system  went 
to  San  Francisco,  intending  to  introduce  it,  but 
received  no  encouragement,  not  even  a  hearing  from 
those  who  should  have  given  it  hearty  support.  He 
went  to  China,  hoping  to  obtain  a  hearing  from 
broader-minded  men,  but  met  with  the  same  experi- 
ences and  opposition  that  worked  against  me  in 
San  Francisco.  The  enemy  had  gone  ahead  and 
deceived  the  very  elect.  He  then  started  a  little 
mission  of  his  own. 

I  had  a  great  burden  to  teach  the  system  to  the 
Chinese  girls  in  the  missions,  knowing  the  great 
advantage  which  this  would  be,  as  they  would  be 
able  to  teach  it  to  their  countrywomen.  So  great 
was  my  anxiety  over  the  matter  that  it  troubled  me 
in  my  dreams.  In  one  of  my  dreams  it  seemed  that 
I  was  caring  for  some  children  whom  I  could  not 
see,  as  they  were  down  in  a  pit  which  was  deep  and 


OR    CHINESE    .SHORTHAND.  27 

dark.  I  called  for  some  one  to  come  and  help  me. 
At  last  one  or  two  women,  seeing  my  distress,  spoke 
slowdy,  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  saying,  "  Yes,  there 
are  children  down  there  in  the  dark."  I  urged 
them  to  call  louder,  to  cry  out  for  help.  Just  then 
a  tall  negro  came  rushing  towards  me,  reached  down 
into  the  pit,  and  brought  up  a  large  garden  pot  full 
of  fresh  earth  with  seeds  in  it  that  had  just  begun 
to  sprout.  Sister  Carley  interpreted  the  dream  to 
mean  that  the  Africans  would  be  the  first  to  help  in 
this  work.  She  said,  "  You  are  now  sowing  seed 
which  will  grow,  and  the  harvest  will  be  great." 
At  Beulah  camp-meeting  five  years  ago  I  met  a  tall 
African  and  his  wife  who  were  collecting  means  to 
return  to  their  mission  in  Africa.  I  had  the  happy 
satisfaction  of  teaching  them,  and  while  they  spoke 
in  the  African  language  I  wrote  it  down.  So  the 
seed  is  sown  thick  for  a  great  harvest  for  future 
generations  to  reap. 

I  had  the  satisfaction  of  teaching  the  system  to 
some  gentlemen  from  Australia  who  were  in  San 
Francisco  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  a  Chinese 
printing-press,  and  I  have  no  doubt  now  that  hun- 
dreds of  these  lesson  leaves  have  been  reproduced  in 
Australia.  Thus  the  seeds  are  being  sown  in  all 
lands. 

I  was  advised  by  some  of  my  friends  to  visit  Prof. 
John  Fryer,  who  had  spent  many  years  in  China, 
and  is  an  accomplished  linguist.  I  attended  one  of 
his  lectures,  and,  upon  being  introduced  to  him, 
received  a  very  kind  invitation  to  visit  his  home,  in 


28  UNIVKRSAI,   STENOGRAPHY, 

Oakland.  I  did  so,  and  he  and  his  wife  investigated 
the  merits  of  the  system  of  Chinese  shorthand. 
Mrs.  Fryer  read  to  me  from  her  Chinese  Bible,  and 
Professor  Fryer  inspected  my  lesson  leaves  and  lis- 
tened to  my  reading  of  what  his  charming  wife  had 
read  to  me.  Professor  Fryer  informed  me  that  some 
ten  years  ago  he  knew  of  a  man  in  China  who  was 
teaching  some  such  system  of  writing,  but  it  was  not 
generally  accepted  because  the  missions  would  not 
receive  it.  I  told  him  I  would  like  to  shake  hands 
with  that  man,  for  I  had  had  just  such  an  experi- 
ence in  San  Francisco.  I  asked  how  the  Chinese 
received  it.  Professor  Fryer  stated  that  some  of 
them  received  it  gladly,  and  those  who  received  it 
learned  it  quickly.  His  wife  also  corroborated  this 
statement,  and  stated  that  in  a  short  time  they 
could  correspond  with  other  girls  who  had  gone 
home  from  that  mission.  Now  either  the  Lord  pre- 
sented this  thought  to  several  at  the  same  time,  or 
else  this  gentleman  in  China  learned  it  from  one  of 
my  earliest  pupils. 

Professor  Fryer  stated  that  he  did  not  know 
whether  the  system  would  be  of  benefit  commercially 
or  not,  but  declared  that  if  they  had  Bibles  printed 
in  this  system,  it  would  be  of  great  benefit.  I 
exclaimed,  "Bless  God,  that  is  all  I  ever  hoped  for." 
But  the  Chinese  consul  had  declared  that  they  must 
have  it  taught  in  their  public  schools.  And  now 
that  we  are  to  have  a  Bible  printed  in  Chinese 
shorthand,  let  it  be  known  that  all  credit  is  due  to 
the  Chinese;  for  had  I  received  no  more  encourage- 


OR    CHINESE    SHORTHAND.  29 

ment  from  them  than  I  did  from  our  own  people,  I 
would  have  given  up  in  despair  long  ago. 

One  Chinaman  remarked  to  me  that  "China 
would  always  be  a  heathen  countr}'  until  we  have 
our  women  educated."  So  he  asked  me  to  come 
and  teach  this  to  his  daughter  after  school  hours. 
I  did  so,  and  in  less  than  two  months  this  little  girl 
only  twelve  years  of  age  had  such  a  perfect  under- 
standing of  the  entire  system  that  she  could  write 
anything  she  wanted  to.  She  would  listen  to  her 
father  reading  from  his  Chinese  Bible  and  take  it 
down  in  Chinese  shorthand.  So  proficient  did  she 
become  in  this  art  that  I  asked  her  to  write  some- 
thing from  the  Bible  and  let  me  see  if  she  could 
read  it  backwards,  commencing  at  the  last  end  of 
the  last  line.  She  did  it  rapidly  and  without  diffi- 
cult5^  I  then  had  her  read  before  a  large  missionary 
meeting  at  the  residence  of  the  Rev,  Mr.  Lock. 
She  chose  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  she 
read  with  great  self-possession.  After  reading  sev- 
eral verses  she  said,  "  Now  I  will  read  it  back- 
wards." Needless  to  say,  she  covered  herself  with 
"honors,  just  as  scores  of  other  Chinese  girls  could 
have  done  if  the  mission  doors  had  not  been  closed 
against  the  work — all  through  the  influence  of  one 
man,  who  had  condemned  it  without  a  hearing. 

I  must  pass  over  many  of  the  varied  and  some- 
times disappointing  experiences  which  fell  to  my  lot 
in  my  teaching  work  in  San  Francisco,  where  the 
misguided  influence  of  a  few  had  erected  such  a 
strong  barrier  to  this  work  given  me  by  the  L,ord  to 


30  UNIVERSAL   STENOGRAHHY, 

do.  After  some  particularly  discouraging  experi- 
ences, I  contracted  la  grippe,  which  incapacitated  me 
for  active  work  for  several  days.  While  thus  afflicted 
I  determined  to  place  my  work  before  Mr.  Pitman, 
and  the  Phonographic  Institute.  They  heartily  in- 
dorsed my  work,  saying  that  they  would  be  pleased 
to  recommend  it  in  their  next  monthly  magazine, 
and  advised  me  to  bring  it  before  the  missionary 
society  of  New  York,  which  I  did. 

In  the  PJwnographic  Magazi7ie  of  the  following 
month,  February,  1899,  we  find  the  following 
note: — 

"  Mrs.  Julia  A.  Barrett,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  who  was 
for  many  years  a  zealous  teacher  of  Ben.  Pitman's  Phonog- 
raphy, has  invented  a  system  of  Chinese  shorthand,  based 
on  the  Pitman  alphabet.  The  work  is  designed  principally 
to  aid  in  the  spreading  of  the  gospel  in  China,  by  enablisg 
the  missionaries  to  readily  read  the  Scripture  in  any  dia- 
lect. We  wish  Mrs.  Barrett  the  success  which  her  good 
work  so  richly  deserves." 

The  letters  from  Mr.  Pitman  I  read  to  Mr.  Urmy, 
who  was  a  great  advocate  of  my  work.  He  sug- 
gested that  I  send  them  to  Dr.  Baldwin,  of  our  mis-, 
sionary  society  in  New  York.  I  replied  that  it 
seemed  to  me  I  had  carried  the  work  alone  about 
long  enough,  and  that  some  one  ought  to  take  hold 
and  help.  He  said,  "  Give  me  those  letters,  and  I 
will  send  them  to  Dr.  Baldwin  myself,  as  I  am  well 
acquainted  with  him."  He  sent  them  off,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  came  and  read  to  me  the  following 
letter:— 


OR   CHINKSE   SHORTHAND.  3 1 

"Missionary  Socif.ty  of  tub  M.  E.  Church, 
150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York, 
Jan.  24,  1899. 
"Rev.  W.  S.  Urmy,  D.  D.,  iiio  Clay  St.,  San  Francisco, 
Cal. — 3fy  Dear  Brother:  I  have  your  letter  concerning  the 
lady  who  has  adapted  the  shorthand  system  to  the  writing 
of  the  Chinese  language,  and  have  referred  the  matter   to 
Dr.  Baldwin,  as  he  is  much   more   expert  than  I,  you  may 
imagine,    in    the    mystery  of    Chinese    hierogl5^phics    and 
sounds.     He  thinks  it  entirely  practicable,  and  advises  that 
Dr.  F.  be   consulted   concerning   its   introduction   into   the 
Chinese  school  in  San  Francisco.     He  has  entire  authority 
in  such  matters. 

'  Give  my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Barrett  and  congratulate 
her  on  an  invention  that  may  be  greatly  useful  in  the  fur- 
therance of  the  good  work.  I  return  the  letter  which  you 
enclosed  to  me,  as  you  requested.         Fraternally  yours, 

"A.  J.  Palmer, 
' '  Corresponding  Secretary. ' ' 

I  told  Dr.  Urmy  that  I  took  him  and  Dr.  Lock 
to  witness  that  I  stood  ready  and  was  anxious  to  go 
into  our  mission  at  any  time,  to  teach,  free  of  charge, 
any  day  or  any  part  of  the  day  or  evening,  but  I 
did  not  believe  that  the  Lord  called  upon  me  any 
longer  to  plead  with  any  mortal  man  to  give  me  a 
hearing.  After  this  I  taught  for  a  while  in  the  jail 
to  some  who  were  criminals  and  to  those  who  were 
simply  waiting  for  their  papers  to  entitle  them  to 
land.  Some  of  the  officers  saw  the  feasibility  of 
the  system  and  joined  my  class,  so  that  they  could 
read  their  orders  to  the  Chinese  in  their  own  lan- 
guage.    This  was  a  very  interesting  class. 

After  this  I  attended  the  camp-meeting  at  Beulah, 
and  at  one  meeting  it  was  required  of  every  one  to 


32  UNIVERvSAL   vSTENOGRAPHY, 

sing  a  verse  or  read  one.  As  I  am  not  much  of  a 
singer,  I  said  I  would  read  in  the  Chinese  language. 
When  I  had  finished  reading  the  Lord's  prayer,  I 
said,  "If  there  is  a  Chinese  brother  in  the  house, 
he  will  please  rise  and  tell  you  what  I  have  read." 
A  Chinese  rose  up  and  said  that  it  was  the  Ivord's 
prayer,  and  that  it  was  not  only  read  well  but  that 
every  word  was  pronounced  perfectly.  He  said: 
"I  think  it  is  something  wonderful  that  this  lady 
writes  our  language  with  the  same  kind  of  charac- 
ters that  she  uses  to  write  the  English.  It  is  won- 
derful indeed."  This  Chinaman  came  to  my  class 
there,  and,  while  he  would  read  from  his  Chinese 
Bible,  I  would  write  down  upon  the  blackboard. 
One  of  the  ministers  present  became  much  inter- 
ested in  my  work,  and  declared,  "I  prophesy  that 
this  will  go  all  over  China." 

I  had  thought  that  I  would  not  give  my  most 
severe  persecutions,  but  I  must  here  relate  one  as  a 
warning  to  the  young  not  to  give  up  because  of  any 
insult  from  officials.  I  was  appointed  a  delegate 
from  Sacramento  to  attend  the  foreign  mission  con- 
vention at  Oakland.  I  was  received  very  kindly  by 
a  lady  of  the  reception  committee.  I  thought  this 
would  be  a  good  opportunity  to  get  some  of  the 
ladies  who  were  before  the  public  to  introduce  my 
work  before  the  convention.  I  soon  had  the  atten- 
tion of  many  of  them,  among  whom  was  the  daughter 
of  my  presiding  elder.  She,  having  been  a  teacher 
of  Pitman's  stenography,  comprehended  it  very 
quickly.     She  urged  that  it  was  m}^  duty  to  present 


OR    CHINESE    SHORTHAND.  33 

'  the  matter  to  the  conventiou.  I  put  it  off  until  the 
afternoon  of  the  last  da3^  At  that  time  the  school- 
children were  to  speak  and  some  papers  were  to  be 
read.  But  by  this  time  it  had  reached  the  ears  of  the 
committee  that  I  intended  speaking  upon  the  subject 
of  Chinese  shorthand.  I  timidly  approached  one 
of  the  members  of  the  committee  and  said:  "  The 
Lord  has  sent  me  down  here  to  deliver  a  message. 
Can  I  have  ten  minutes  to  bring  it  before  the  con- 
vention?" She  replied,  "What  is  the  nature  of 
your  message  ?  "  I  answered  that  I  had  discovered 
a  method  of  shorthand  the  alphabet  of  which  fits 
the  Chinese  language  as  perfectly  as  the  Roman 
alphabet  does  the  English. 

I  felt  the  shrug  of  the  shoulder  as  she  said,  "  I 
do  not  see  any  sense  in  reading  something  when  you 
do  not  understand  what  you  are  reading  about." 
I  said  to  her,  ' '  When  I  have  the  English  Bible  in 
one  hand  and  am  reading  from  the  Chinese  short- 
hand in  the  other,  I  know  what  I  am  reading 
about,  and  so  also  will  the.  heathen  before  me, 
though  he  be  too  ignorant  to  read  a  Bible  printed  in 
the  difficult  Chinese  characters."  She  stated  that 
this  was  not  the  proper  place  for  it.  I  asked  where 
the  proper  place  would  be,  to  which  she  replied: 
"  Well,  well,  I  do  not  know,  perhaps  before  a  pub- 
lishing board.  There  is  no  room  for  it  here,  any- 
waj'."  I  answered,  "No,  nor  was  there  room  for 
the  Master  in  the  inn;  but  there  was  room  for  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  that  cared  to  crowd  in," 
But  she  was  firm,  and  we  walked  into  the  meeting 


34  UNIVERSAL   STENOGRAPHY, 

in  silence,  I  praying,  "  Lord,  give  me  grace  to  stand 
through  this  ordeal."  I  do  not  know  the  influence 
that  was  back  of  this  rebuff,  and  it  is  not  necessary 
that  I  should;  but  I  felt  that  I  had  discharged  my 
duty  in  offering  to  bring  it  before  the  convention, 
and  must  leave  the  rest  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord. 

To  fully  recover  from  a  severe  attack  of /«  grippe, 
I  was  compelled  to  seek  a  change  of  climate.  I 
went  to  Pacific  Grove,  and  was  soon  rewarded  with 
perfect  health  and  strength.  I  was  then  within  a 
mile  of  a  large  settlement  of  Chinese  fishermen, 
where  they  lived  with  their  families.  I  took  a  Bible 
in  one  hand  and  a  piece  of  chalk  in  the  other,  and 
walked  over  beside  one  of  their  black  shanties,  that 
would  serve  well  as  a  blackboard.  I  said  to  one  of 
the  Chinamen,  "Read  to  me  in  3'our  language." 
"  No  can  read  Chinese,"  he  replied.  "  Take  twenty 
years  to  learn  that  kind  Chinese  Bible."  I  tried 
another  and  another,  but  none  could  read. 

I  then  said,  "  Talk  Chinese,  and  I  will  show  you 
how  easy  it  is  to  write  your  own  language."  A 
crowd  soon  gathered,  and  one  man  was  pointed  out 
to  me  who  could  read.  As  he  read  I  wrote,  and 
then  wrote  the  alphabet,  vowels  and  consonants. 
They  saw  the  simplicity  of  it,  and  I  had  invitations 
to  teach  in  their  homes.  They  were  willing  to  pay, 
but  I  told  them  I  did  not  want  money,  that  I  was 
leaching  them  so  they  might  have  the  gospel.  I 
had  many  interesting,  perplexing,  and  sometimes 
encouraging  experiences  in  this  village  of  Chinese 
fisherfolk.     Here  also  I  had  to  meet  strong  opposi- 


OR    CHINESE    SHORTHAND.  35 

tion  from  those  who  should  have  given  encourage- 
ment to  the  work.  Many  of  my  pupils  did  well, 
although  they  could  be  spared  only  one  short  hour 
from  their  work  of  baiting  fish-hooks.  I  received 
here  much  encouragement  from  a  Chinese  merchant, 
Kwong  Ye,  and  other  merchants.  One  of  these 
young  merchants  who  learned  the  system  has  since 
gone  to  China.  And  so  the  seed  is  being  sown 
beside  all  waters, 

I  went  to  the  home  of  the  superintendent  of  a 
number  of  the  fishermen,  and  was  very  graciously 
received  by  the  two  daughters.  They  were  very 
bright,  and  were  much  pleased  to  have  me  teach 
them.  I  visited  them  from  day  to  day,  and,  as  they 
were  accustomed  to  using  their  brains,  they  made 
very  rapid  progress.  In  six  weeks'  time,  at  a  half 
hour  a  day,  the)^  had  acquired  such  a  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  the  whole  system  that  they  were  teaching 
the  children  during  the  day  and  their  mother  in  the 
evening.  One  said,  "  I  am  teaching  my  mother,  so 
that  when  I  go  to  China  I  can  correspond  with  her, 
for  she  can  never  hope  to  learn  to  write  in  Chinese 
characters." 

I  told  them  about  the  awful  circumstance  of  the 
young  Chinese  girl  who  was  stolen  in  Palo  Alto 
and  placed  in  a  dirty  jail  overnight,  with  the  kind 
Presbyterian  superintendent  of  the  Chinese  home, 
who  would  not  leave  the  girl  alone.  I  said:  "  Now 
if  you  should  get  stolen,  you  could  write  a  letter  in 
Chinese  shorthand,  tell  who  stole  you,  and  where 
you  are,  and  drop  it  from  your  window.     Some  one 


36  UNIVERvSAL    STENOGRAPHY, 

would  find  it  and  take  it  to  a  missionary  to  read,  as 
this  is  to  be  taught  in  all  the  missions."  One 
clapped  her  hands  and  said,  "  Isn't  that  good!  " 
picked  up  her  pencil,  and  went  to  work  with 
renewed  interest. 

I  also  had  two  bright  pupils  in  the  home  of  a 
Chinese  gambler.  We  took  the  blackboard  from 
our  school-room  and  put  it  in  the  little  two-roomed 
house.  The  news  of  Diti's  schoolhouse,  with  a  big 
blackboard,  soon  spread  to  the  next  settlement. 
Persons  from  that  settlement  also  wanted  the  lessons 
and  the  lesson  leaves,  which  I  still  furnished  free  of 
charge.  One  of  these  visitors  said  to  Diti:  "Give 
me  some  of  these  lesson  leaves.  I  am  going  to  send 
my  girls  up  to  San  Francisco  to  the  mission  school, 
and  they  can  get  Miss  Williamson,  of  the  Faith 
Mission,  to  teach  them  the  Chinese  shorthand. 
Then  you  can  correspond  with  them."  I  said, 
"Thank  the  Lord,  the  work  is  spreading  even  in 
the  missions." 

In  July  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  Japanese, 
who  became  as  much  interested  in  watching  me 
write  and  having  me  teach  them  as  I  was  in  having 
them  read  to  me.  A  Japanese  girl  soon  went  to 
teaching  the  system,  and  interested  the  whole  settle- 
ment. Now  I  have  so  many  American  pupils  that 
I  must  give  a  public  exhibition  of  the  work,  assisted 
by  the  Chinese  and  Japanese. 

On  returning  to  my  home  in  Sacramento,  I  met 
Dr.  G.  A.  Droll  and  wife,  who,  with  some  of  their 
church-members,  called  and    took   lessons.     They 


OR    CHINESE   SHORTHAND.  37 

were  delighted  with  this  quick  way  of  reaching  the 
Chinese.  The  doctor  advised  me  to  go  to  Oakland 
to  teach  some  of  their  mission  workers  of  the 
Adventist  Church.  There  I  met  the  ministers,  edi- 
tors, and  officers,  who  approved  of  my  work  and  are 
to  print  this  book,  the  proceeds  from  which  are  to 
be  devoted  to  the  printing  of  the  New^  Testament  in 
universal  stenography,  or  Chinese  shorthand. 

During  this  visit  to  Oakland  and  San  Francisco, 
this  system  of  writing  the  Chinese  language,  or 
other  languages,  was  given  a  hearing  by  Bishop 
Hamilton,  who  endorsed  it  and  recommended  its 
use  in  the  missions  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
at  this  writing  it  is  being  taught  in  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Methodist  Chinese  Mission.  At  the  time  of 
its  admission  there  the  following  commendatory 
words  appeared  in  the  Pacific  Ensign: — 

"This  phonetic  system  is  remarkably  simple,  and  prom- 
ises to  be  a  boon  to  missionaries  and  others  to  whom  a 
rapid  acquisition  of  the  Chinese  language  is  important. 
Mrs.  Barrett  has  labored  with  the  patient  persistence  charac- 
teristic of  one  possessing  a  grand  idea,  while  others  were 
unconscious  of  its  value.  Slowly  but  surely  recognition 
comes  to  her,  and  one  after  another  Chinese  schools  have 
taken  up  her  methods. ' ' 

And  so  for  the  success  at  last  attained,  for  the 
blessings  bestowed,  for  the  experiences  gained,  and 
the  lessons  learned  through  many  and  trying  diffi- 
culties, we  praise  His  name  who  gives  us  all  good 
things,  and  pray  His  blessing  upon  this  work  now 
given  to  the  world.       Mrs.  Julia  A.  Barrett. 

Sacramento,  Cai.,  September,  1^02. 

293086 


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